How To Not Make a Mary Sue
by XXChRiSsYxx
Summary: How to not make a Mary Sue. Short. Horror/Tragedy, because that's what Mary Sues are.
1. Chapter 1

**OMG my first fic plz don't flame. Ahaha just kidding, if you guys hate it, I'm not going to go in a corner and start crying. In fact, I'd love CC. Just something I need to say. I'm terrible with semicolons and I'm terrible with then and than. I apologize if I get them mixed up...**

**Okay, I wrote this story because of the many Mary-Sues that pollute fanfiction. I hope it helps the many Mary-Sue makers. One more thing, since I'm a Canadian, I might have different ways of spelling words. **

How to not make a Mary Sue

Names

One of the things that I've noticed is that at _least _half of the Mary Sues for PJO have complicated names with 5 middle names. You don't have to pick an extremely common, boring name, but don't pick a really odd one either. Do _not _combine their god & parent's name. An example from a fic that I read was Alexanhera. Instead of picking 4 middle names for your character, pick _one._ It's less confusing for the readers. For their last name, you can pick a friend's last name if you can't think of one. When you pick your character's first name, don't pick a completely foreign, weird name. Don't pick one like Grietje, or one that the reader doesn't want to bother remembering. Pick a nice name that you like!

Physical Appearance

Another common attribute in a Mary Sue is that they are all drop-dead gorgeous. Unless they're a daughter of Aphrodite, for the sake of everyone, do not make them the hottest person who has walked the earth. People want a character that they can relate to! If they're extremely beautiful, it makes it hard to. It's O.K if they're pretty, but if they are, you can maybe give them a scar that makes it less obvious. For God's sake, don't make them look exactly like you. That screams CRAZY FANGIRL! Another big don't is DO NOT make them have a really rare eye colour that nobody else has. Eye colours that are fine would be brown, green, blue, grey, hazel, etc.

Things in Common 

When your character has basically everything in common with its creator, it normally means that said creator is a fangirl. It's fine if your character has a few things in common. It's great if you can connect to your character, it makes the story even better. If you have _everything _in common with them (religion, physical appearance, ethics, hobbies, PJO crush, etc) the story becomes boring. Make them have a couple of hobbies that you have, maybe the same religion. Don't go overboard though.

Powers and God Parent

One thing that annoys me like crazy is when an ``author`` makes their main character have an unlikely god parent. By unlikely god parent, I am mainly referring to Hera and Artemis. Hera is LOYAL to her husband, no matter how much he cheats on her. If you did some research, or read the books, you would know very well that she is the goddess of _marriage_. Artemis is a maiden goddess, so she does not have any children. I do not care that ``It is my story and I will do what I want to!``, it just does not happen, so suck it up. Try to avoid having your half-blood be the daughter of Hades, Poseidon or Zeus, if you can.

Now, for the powers. This a really annoying thing for a whole crap load of people. We all hate characters that are the best at archery after one freaking day. It is _so _unrealistic and stupid. They also _cannot _master their powers and be the best at everything when they`ve been at camp for one day. Do not make your character have the ability to randomly transform into something like a peacock.

Flaws

All well-written characters have at least _one _major flaw. It can be in their appearance, their judgement, anything. Like in the PJO books, everyone has their fatal flaw. Annabeth`s is her pride, and for Percy it is loyalty. If your person has not flaws, not even the tiniest hint of a flaw, you are going to get bombed. Nobody likes a person with no flaws. It gives them low self-esteem.

Nobody likes an author`s pet (a Mary Sue or Gary Stu), so try your best not to make one, and make the fandom a better place. If you do make one, don`t go whining because ``No one likes my gorgeous, flawless (insert Mary Sue`s name here) !`

**Ahh, thanks for reading my probably terrible fic. Sorry about the punctuation, my computer started acting retarded and made the apostrophes and quotation marks look funny... I apologize for any spelling, grammar and punctuation mistakes. Some feedback would be great. CC is welcomed, and very much appreciated ****.**


	2. AN

**I just wanted to say that if this guide gets a few more reviews (no, I'm not a review whore) it's possible that I will make another guide on god-knows-what. Thanks for reading, and CC is appreciated.**


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